The highly anticipated meeting of Diablo 4 Season 5 with many players is officially scheduled for August 6, 2024. From the many known information, players can’t wait to enter the game experience. Among them, the most discussed is Infernal Hordes, which is a wave-based game mode in this season.

In the Season 5 PTR some time ago, many players have already experienced this new mode first. This guide will tell you what you will encounter in the official version of Infernal Hordes and how you should deal with it based on the content of the previous PTR. Then come and take a look!

What Is Infernal Hordes?

Infernal Hordes in Season 5 is a wave-based combat activity with a little rogue-like touch. In this activity, you will be asked to fight against enemies who attack you continuously, and they will even attack you as a wave, which can generate Aetheric Events.

As you complete these events, you can earn Boons to increase your combat power. Eventually you’ll face off against Fell Council, and defeating them will earn you the ultimate reward.

As you progress through the Tier of Infernal Horde, the number of Waves you need to clear will increase, with one wave added per level. This means you’ll get more Burning Aether from more waves, but the monsters will also become more powerful.

How To Enter Infernal Hordes?

Before you can enter Infernal Hordes, you’ll need to complete Eyes of Enemy quest near Zarbinzet in Hawezar. You’ll get Locran’s Talisman Unique Amulet and a Tier 1 Infernal Compass at the end of the quest.

Remember this Infernal Compass, it’ll be very useful later in your quest. There are 8 levels of Infernal Compasses in Infernal Hordes. The first three are natural drops, and the next 5 require you to use Abyssal Scroll to upgrade Tier 3 Compass.

Here are the specific levels of Infernal Compasses:

• Tier 1: Obtained from Whisper Caches, Helltide Chests and Nightmare Dungeons (WT3). You need to fight monsters of level 50-70 here.
• Tier 2: Obtained from Whisper Caches, Helltide Chests and Nightmare Dungeons (WT4). You need to fight monsters of level 70-100 here.
• Tier 3: Obtained from Whisper Caches, Helltide Chests and Nightmare Dungeons (WT4 at Level 100). You need to fight monsters of level 100 here.
• Tier 4: Use Abyssal Scroll to upgrade Tier 3 Compass. Here you need to fight against level 120 monsters.
• Tier 5: Use Abyssal Scroll to upgrade Tier 4 Compass. Here you need to fight against level 140 monsters.
• Tier 6: Use Abyssal Scroll to upgrade Tier 5 Compass. Here you need to fight against level 160 monsters.
• Tier 7: Use Abyssal Scroll to upgrade Tier 6 Compass. Here you need to fight against level 180 monsters.
• Tier 8: Use Abyssal Scroll to upgrade Tier 7 Compass. Here you need to fight against level 200 monsters.

Abyssal Scrolls can be obtained through Spoils of Hell or salvaging Infernal Compasses. But you need to note that the number of Abyssal Scrolls obtained when salvaging is determined by Tier of Compass. Starting from Tier 4, an additional Abyssal Scroll will be added for each level upgrade.

How Do Infernal Hordes Waves Work?

In Infernal Hordes, each wave consists of a group of enemies who will try their best to defeat you. However, it is always in vain. After you defeat these enemies, Aetheric Events will be generated, and you can get Burning Aether in these events.

Remember to save your Burning Aether, which is the most important thing in Infernal Hordes and can be exchanged for Spoils of Hell. Each wave lasts about 2 minutes, and the total game lasts about 10 minutes.

There is currently no timer that can be displayed on the screen, but you can set a timer somewhere else, such as your phone, so that there is a certain urgency.

Aetheric Events

After defeating a certain number of enemies in each wave, you will fill up a meter. After filling, these enemies will spawn some events in the current arena. You need to note that the rewards and difficulty of each event are random, but you can use some Boons after each wave to increase the frequency or value of a certain event.

Currently, there are 6 Aetheric Events that will appear. Aether Fiends, Aether Lords, Aetheric Masses, Burning Butcher, Hellborne, and Soulspires.

Aether Fiends

Aether Fiends are very common Elite Monsters. The difference between them and other Aetheric Events is that they will drop some Burning Aether after death. If your class or build cannot easily fight against the boss, you can use Boons to increase the frequency of this event, so that you can get more Burning Aether.

But you should also be reminded that not all Aether Fiends are easy to deal with. Some of the rarer ones may make Infernal Horde more difficult. For example, Rashibosh can cause fire damage in a large area, so please be well protected before preparing for the battle.

Aether Lords

Aether Lords are an upgraded version of Dungeon and Stronghold Bosses in the game, and include all boss types. However, Endgame Boss Ladder is not included.

Although you may have seen them in previous seasons and know what their attacks are, you still can’t take them lightly because there are some recent attacks. Most of these additional attacks are an AOE damage or crowd control.

Once you reach Tier 3 and above, you will need to use some weapons and builds that can deal with super high damage and make the most of them. As a result, you will get a lot of Burning Aether and a lot of Diablo 4 Gold after defeating Aether Lords. Unlike other Aetheric Events, Aether Lords will only appear when you using Boons.

Aetheric Mass

Aetheric Mass actually works very similar to Corrupted Spires in Helltide. The surrounding space is divided into 6 sections, and it will only attack three of them at a time. So there will be a certain gap between each damage area, and what you need to do is to defeat Aetheric Mass in these gaps. Similarly, after being destroyed, it will also drop Burning Aether.

Burning Butcher

In previous seasons, Butcher was a must-have in Hell. In the new Infernal Hordes Mode, Butcher takes on a distinct look, as it adds some fire to its gear.

Like Aether Lords, you’ll need to prepare all the gear that can deal with high damage before fighting Burning Butcher. Usually, you will get 25 or more Burning Aether after defeating Burning Butcher.

Hellborne

You may have seen Hellborne in previous seasons, but unlike Butcher, it has not changed much this season. Hellborne here usually appears in groups of 2 or 3 at a time, so you need to choose weapons or builds that can deal group damage or crowd control.

You don’t have to worry about the number of Burning Aethers dropped, because each group will drop Burning Aether after you successfully defeat it, and this event is very reliable, just like Aether Fiends. But you should be aware that Hellborne also requires Boons to appear in Infernal Hordes.

Soulspire

These are similar to Corrupted Spires in Helltide, but without the health drain. You need to stand near it and defeat a certain number of enemies until it explodes, and you can eventually pick up Burning Aether.

Boons

Boons in Infernal Hordes always have a duality. You can use them to increase the frequency of a certain event, but you can also increase the strength of the enemies in the event. It depends on which you want more.

Fell Council

Fell Council is a variation of Council in Diablo 2 that was corrupted and twisted because of Mephisto’s influence. In Diablo 4 Season 5’s Infernal Hordes, the 5 Council members have original attacks, but similarly, each Fell Council can summon Hydras with unique characteristics.

You can fight 3 random Hydras after Infernal Hordes ends. This means that you need to be well prepared so that you can quickly enter the battle.

The above is some introduction to the new Infernal Hordes Mode in Diablo 4 Season 5. In anticipation, players are welcome to join the player community in Discord to express some insights and opinions. In addition, you can also receive welfare information released by IGGM Discord while waiting for the official release of Season 5! Come and participate!